Road building machine



Feb. 13, 1940. J HELTZEL 2,190Q562 ROAD BUILDING MACHINE Original Filed March '2, 1935 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 gwumtoc:

J. NHFHL E Feb. 13, 1940.

J. N. HELTZ EL ROADBUILDING MACHINE Original Filed March 2,1935 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 wll lmu houw Mm Mm J- N- HELTZ E Z Feb. 13, 1940. J, E L 2,190,562

ROAD BUILDING MACHINE Original Filed March 2, 1935 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 llll l; T:

.mma

Patented Feb 13, 1 940 s PAT ENT OFFICE ROAD B I DI G- MACHINE John N. Heltzel, Warren, Ohio.

Application March 2, 1935, SerialNo. 9;1=1'4 Renewed December 29, 1939 19 Claims.

Thepresent invention relates to improvements in road building machines and has for an object toprovide an improved machine for performing p a number of finishing and joint installing operations upon a plastic road under construction.

The invention constitutes certain improvements over the machine shown and described in my prior Patent 1,982,387 granted November-27,

1934. 1 The invention is also a continuation in part of my copending application for Road building apparatus, Serial No. 415,318 filed December 19, 1929, including means for de-aerating the plastic concrete either before or after the concrete is placed on the road bed to remove air bubbles and pockets from the concrete to densify the mass.

Another object of the invention is to provide a machine having various combinations of cooperatin'g devices or instrumentalities which will lend themselves to various methods of surfacing road materials, such as concrete, asphalt or. otherbituminous materials. 1

The invention alsocontemplates a machine for carrying out such methods including the use of. vibrating surfacers, a means for installing dowel rods, with means for vibrating the installed dowel rods and means for the internal vibration of the concrete. p I, The invention also contemplatesthe use of a o machine for backward and forward 'screeding and and transversely. 3

The invention also has for its object to provide a unitary machine for carrying all these various Jdevices or instrumentalities and for operating 1 such of them as require operation.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, the invention will'be more fully described hereinafter, and will be more particularly pointed out in the claims appended heretol.

In the drawings, wherein like symbols refer to like or correspondingparts throughout the several mews,

Figure 1 is a top plan view of an improved road 5" building machine constructed according to the present invention. 9

' Figure 21s a side elevation ,of'the same.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary vertical section taken through the forward screed and tamper.

' r 'f Figure 4 is a similar view taken through the rear screed and showinga joint installing device of a device for installing jointboth longitudinally Referring more particularly to the drawings, 1

moves toward the right when on its forward movement. The wheels 2 roll 'upon the side forms or the road forms 3- and the carriage is propelledby a power plant 4 carried thereby.

The driving connections from the power plant to the wheelsarewell-known, form no part of the invention and are therefore not illustrated. This power plant 4 may consist of the conventional gasoline or internal combustion engine and an electric generator for furnishing electric current for the electrical operation of the several devices carriedby the machine; The main drive shaft is indicated at 5 and is arranged longitudinally of the frame I. It passes through the power plant 4* and extends both forwardly and rearwardly of the same. Such shaft carries at its forward-and rear endsthe eccentrics 6 for reciprocating the'screeds 1. It will be noted that there is a forward screed and a rear screed. One such screed is shown in Figure 6, in which figure appears an eccentricarm B pivoted to the screed at 9 for accomplishing lateral reciprocating movement" of the screed across the roadway.

It will be'un'derstoodthatsuitable clutches of the conventional type are provided at appropriate points whereby the operation of the various implements actuated by the shaft 5' may be con- V angle of approximately -tothe vertical. The;

trolledby the operator. At the forward end of.

the machine is mounted a tamper [0. In Figures 2 and 3 this tamper is shown as positioned on an 1 tamper slides in'guides H and is moved up and down or actuated? by the'eccentrics l2 carried upon the cross shaft" [3 journalled in bearings 4: on the frame l' and" driven from the drive shaft 1 5 by appropriategearing.

As shown in. Figures 1,' 2 and 6 the screed or surfacer I rests on the side forms/3 at its end 2 portions and is held down on the side forms by the compression rollers i5 operated by the hand wheels it so astoprevent the screed or surfacer l from raisingout of contact with the side forms while the tamper [iris packing the road material under the screed; as shown in Figure 3.

When surfacing concrete it is desirable at times 1 to install dowel rodsor'reinforcing after the con- 0 machine is the front thereof and the machine "crete is poured. 1 To accomplish this, a plow shaped member IT is supported by the frame I having screw threaded rods and hand wheels It to adjustthe plow in and out of plastic. concretep 1 1 One of these adjusting devices I8 is mounted at the forward apex portion of the plow I! while. two other of; suchadjusting devices are mounted at the rear divergent ends-of the wings of theplow 1 member ll-Z It will be understood that asthe machinemoves forwardfthe plow ll" excavates the concretefora suitable depth, 2 or 3 inches; 1 andof a width to accommodate the positioning of i dowel rods 1-9; 1 The dowel rods may be unreeled from a roll 20 of such dowel rods, the roll being machine moves forward. The rollers 22 may be transversely across the machine in staggered reof the plow l! and into the excavation made by such plow. Deflector wings 2i are adjustably carried by. the frame back of the plow. These .wings converge rearwardly and act to restore the excavated road material over the installed dowel rods l9. Threaded rods and adjusting wheels 2! are connected to the end portions of the wings 2! for raising and lowering the same. A series of rollers 22 are carried by the frame for depressing the road material progressively as the carried by threaded rods and hand wheels 22 for the purpose of adjusting the same to the proper elevation. These rollers may be of any number and grouped together in any desired arrangement. For instance in Figure l, five such rollers extend lation, the center roller having a groove cutting ring 22-A to form. a separation 22B, and de- Dress dowel bars I9.

Rearwardly of the rollers 22 is a transverse fjOlIlt and dowel rod installing device 23 further illustrated in Figure 5. The installer. 23 is arranged for up and down adjustment on the frame by the hand wheels 2 Electric or other suitable vibrators 25 are carried by the device 23.

It is at times desirable to vibrate the mass of concrete by internal vibration; also, to vibrate the steel reinforcing by internal vibration. This is accomplished by the traveling vibrating apparatus 2b which spans the roadway and travels on the longitudinal frame I of the machine by the rollers or wheels Ell. This bar or carriage 26 supports a central series of internal vibrators 28 spaced at suitable intervals along the length of the bar 2%, such vibrators being operated by electricity or by compressed air or in other suitable manner. Centrally of the bar is a bridge piece 28 extending forwardly and rearwardly of the bar 2t and carrying the vibrators 28 in front of and behind the transverse line of vibrators 28. These vibrators 28 are arranged to contact steel reinforcing or the dowels l9 and for this purpose such vibrators 28 are formed with, rounded under-surfaces. The vibratingapparatus 26 may remain stationary while the carriage l moves forward to accomplish its other several functions, the wheels 2?" permitting the frame I to slide beneath the same while such wheels 2:! support the vibrating device 26.

During all this time thevibrators 28 and 28 will remain in the mass of concrete and are operating upon'such mass of concrete being embedded in the concrete in a stationary position.

After the machine I has advanced a distance under the wheels 2?, such wheels will come in contact with the bumper 29 whereupon the internal vibrators will be disengaged from the mass of material, moved forward by virtue of the wheels 21 riding along the side members of the frame I, and such internal vibrators may be let down at a subsequent forward point. and the, operation repeated by submerging the vibrators in the mass of concrete so that the mass of concrete will be vibrated simultaneously as the main carriage which moves forward. i

At. the rear portion of the machine will be found the rear transversely reciprocating screed 7 heretofore referred to, the same being operated by the eccentric 6 at the rear end of the drive shaft 5 and by an eccentric arm 8- pivoted to the screed; This rear screed is also shown inFigure l, the screed being guided by the rollers 30 which are mounted on vertical axes carried by the arms 3! which extend back to a rigid part of the frame. The peripheral portions of the rollers 30 engage the flanges of the screed I.

Adjacent the rear screed 1, and forwardly thereof, is an auxiliary surfacing member 32. It will be clear from Figure 1 that this auxiliary surfacing member 32 is not as long as the screed and it does not rest upon the side forms 3. Such auxiliary surfacer carries vibrators 33 and the surfacer is reciprocated laterally and simultaneously with the screed 1. Both members I and 32 are reciprocated back and forth across the road as the machine moves forward, thereby compacting the road material and surfacing the road materials by the combination of a reciproeating and vibrated action. A joint installing blade 34 is carried by the carriage and is connected to two adjusting screws adjusted up and down by means of the hand wheels 35 shown in Figure 2. The blade 34 projects under the auxiliary surfacer 32 and partially under the rear screed l whereby in its operation the screed member I will overlap the joint blade 34 and also overlap the joint strip 36 as the strip emerges from the blade. This is clearly shown in Figure .1-. It will be understood'that, by this method, the strip 36 will be supported by the blade while theauxiliary surfacer 32 operates on the plastic material over the strip.

It will be understood that the machine may be moved both forwardly and backwardly over the road while the. front and rear screeds and the auxiliary surfacer 32 are in operation. When moving backward in all cases the blade 34 is moved out of contact with the concrete, the joint strip being severed.

It has been found that air bubbles or air pockets in the green concrete reduce the strength of the air because of honeycombing, and in order to produce a higher strength concrete, I provide a deaerating'apparatus mounted on the machine, consisting of a vacuum pump lA mounted on the carriage and operated by suitable power. Air tight hoods of cone-shape or of other suitable design, having'the least cubical volume and the maximum surface area indicated at lB, are carried by the carriage and are provided withvacuum hose 4-0 of a convenient length to permit the positioning of the member 4-B at different points over the surface of the road.

To operate the apparatus, the hood is placed on the'surface of the road and the vacuum treatweakestportions-such as, at the outside and inside corners of the roadwayadjacent to the longitudinal and transverse joints.

Figure 2, showing a side elevation of the machine, indicates also the subgrade. This sub- .grade is very often uneven as indicated and the combined screed'l and tamper H] are found to be particularly desirable in surfacing roads which have an uneven subgrade, as indicated at X. The depth or volume of the road material at some points is approximately twice the depth at other points. For instance, as indicated at X,

there is an unusual depth to the road. When asphalt is-used in "the resurfacing of old roads the road material will be compacted under the screed i progressively as the machine moves forward. The under surface of the screed l wi1l"de-' fine the top surface of the roadand after the.

road materials have been surfaced, such as asphalt or black top, the, rollers 22- are operated over the black top or asphalt to further compact the material. Usually it is estimated that rollers will depress asphalt or black top material to the extent of 20% of its depth. Therefore, assuming that the asphalt be ten'inches deep at the point X, it would depress at that point 20%or two inches. Again, assuming that the asphalt ma-: terial at point X would be five inches deep before it was'compacted, after it was rolled, it would depress 20% or one inch..

' Therefore it will be understood that the top surface of the road would contain depressions as installed and consequently the plow members ll are not placed in operation. Also the transverse joint installing device 23 is not lowered into operative position; Furthermore it is not necessary to use the vibrating apparatus 26. However the vibrator on the surfaeers I and 3.2 may be used if desired. Whenthe machine is used for contacting asphalt or black top roads the joint installing blade t l-,is not used.

As shown in Figures 2 and i. the joint installing blade 34 projects part way under the bottom of the rear screed l sothat the joint strip 36 is supported by the blade 34 as it emerges from the end of the blade, and by the surfacer l! reciprocating transversely across the top end of the blade and the emerged strip. Thus the strip will be supported in a vertical position while the surfacer finishes the material adjacent to the strip. j v i The screed members 7 may be raised out of position by the chain? wound around the'drums l and operated by the ratchet handle or lever l9. Referring more particularly to Figures 3 and 4 these figures illustrate the arrangement for'ccnnecting the screed members tothe frame I by the use of arms 3 I, such armsbeing pivoted at 3! and having rollers 33 positioned within the screed members. the screed when operating either forwardly or backwardly; The rear wall of the screed is slotted to admit the arms 3| and to 'permit'the transverse reciprocation of the screed l progressively as the tamper member Ill is .reciprocated up and down to compact the material underthe screed. i j I K The slots in the screed are shown at 31 The rear. screed l is provided with pivoted hooks 32 to releasably engage sockets 32* when it is desired to reciprocate the surfacer 32 together with which consists in offsetting the ends of thejdowel,

wow 1 rods so the ends of all the rods will not ter- 1 The rollers 3c are arranged to guide.

minate in the same plane. The dowel rods ll when spaced closely together with their ends terminating in the same plane create a weakened condition in the concrete slab. The position of screed. 'Screeds now generally used have a tendency to warp out of longitudinal alignment .when

bucking concrete; that is, thescreed may seat firmly on the side forms 3 but when bucking a mass of stiff concrete, as indicated'at M, the thrust against the screed tips the screed forwardly, causing the screed to dig into the con- 'crete'.

screed is forced down below thedesired surface of the roadway. Such warping of the screed takes place to thegreatest degree in the center of the 20.- 1 block 45 upon a part of the frame I and carriesv screed. A screw rod i3 is threaded through a a hand wheel 36 for rotating the same. The rod t3 carries a yoke i'l in-which is carried a swivel eye 38. Up through this eye projects slidably a pin $9., The pin is on the upper -'end of a triangular truss 5B which is pivotally mounted in bearings 5i secured to the front and rear walls" of the screed I at an intermediate portion..-

Thus the pivotal members 50 and 48 permit the screed 1 to be reciprocated transversely by the action of the eccentric 6 and its arm 81 But at the same time the truss arrangement, reinforced by the rod dt which forms a rigid con-,

nection from the frame l, reinforces and strengthens the intermediate portion of the screed l and prevents the same from bending or buckling or in any way. warping. When raising the screed by the use of the chain l the pin 49 will simply slide up in'the eye 48. The ends of the screed l are held down by the rollers 25 which rollers may be lifted when :it is desired to raise the screed; When it is desired to warp the screed the hand wheel 36 is manipulated so that the screw member it will move in the bearing 45 thus shifting the yoke M rearwardly or toward the frame member i. With this arrangement the operator will have complete control over the warping of the screed.

Another improvement in the screed is involved in the flaring of the ends of the screed upwardly asst 53 and also in flaring the front and rear. parts 54 of the end'portions of the screed upwardly whereby to permitsuch ends to readily ride up over projecting stakes, as indicated by the raised stake 55. In numerousinstances these stakes, which are used to holdthe road forms stances finishing machines have been disabled by the breaking of parts caused by the screed jamming against projeeting stakes. the flaring ends 54 will enable the screed and in fact will require such screed to slide up over any projecting stakes that it might encounter eliminating this cause of damage to the machine and at-the same time signalling the operator who in such case will be required to back up the, machine and force the stake down into its proper Therefore,

l5: In other words the front part of the I out of contact with the concrete.

1 power transmission.

such as five feet or so, it would not be economicalto use the dowel rod assembly as described in Figure l. -In such cases I provide another type of dowel rod installer to be operated in combination with the screed l'. implement 6B 'is supported by arms 51, which are pivoted to the screed at 62. The arms 6| are fulcrumed to the screed as indicated at 63. The arms are provided with pivots at 64, which 10Z are secured to screw arrangement, which is threaded into the threaded block 24B and pivoted at 24-0. The hand wheel 24-D when moved up and down will raise and lower the implement 693 down into the plastic concrete progressively as the screed is reciprocated transversely of the roadway. By this method a cut is provided in the slab-of a proper depth to accommodate the dowel rod 36--which is positioned in the out after the implement 60 has been elevated After the dowel bar has been positioned, the machine is moved forward and the mass of concrete is screeded over the dowel bar and the operation is repeated progressively as the machine moves for- Means are provided for vibrating the screed mechanically by eccentrically loaded shafts driven through the gear box 69 by the universal jointed drive shaft Hi, which is driven by suitable It will be noted that the screed I will be permitted to reciprocate laterally and be moved up and down to and from the plastic concrete. It may be desirable to release the side forms from excess vibration caused by the eccentrically'loaded shaft 68 because of the cams 68--A, which are eccentrically balanced in order to produce violent vibrations to the screed. Therefore, in order to relieve the side forms of excessive vibration, I provide the compression spring "I I, which is positioned around the vertical shaft 13 and secured in position by the lug M, which is secured to the frame of the machine #l. The roller i5 is housed in position by the member 12, which will tend to ease the screed upwardly.

It will be obvious that various changes may be made in the construction, combination and arrangement of parts which could be used without departing iromthe spirit of my invention and I do not mean to limit the invention to such details except as particularly pointed out in the claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claimand desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In a road building machine, a surfacer resting at its end portions upon the side forms, yieldable means supported above the surfacer constantly holding the surfacer on the side-forms, means to reciprocate the surfacer, an auxiliary surfacer located adjacent the first-named surfacer and supported directly upon the road, and means to detachably. couple the two surfacers for simultaneous reciprocating movement.

2. In a road building machine, a pair of surfacers, one of said surfacers being longer than the other and 'slidably resting on the side forms, yieldable means supported from above one of the surfacers and engaging" said one surfacer for holding said one surfacer on the side forms, the

other surfacer being shorter and resting directly on the road being formed between the side forms, means to reciprocate one of the surfacers laterally across the roadway, and means between the surfacers to detachably couple the same together for simultaneous movement.

A saw tooth 3. In a road building machine, a screed slidable on the side forms, spring-pressed means engaging thescreed for holding the screed in contacting relation to the side forms, an auxiliary surfacer forwardly of the screed and lying on the road surface, and a joint-installing blade in the plastic road extending beneath the auxiliary surfacer and partly beneath the screed.

4. In a road building machine, a screed supported on the side forms, means to reciprocate the screed, an auxiliary surfacer forward of the screed, means to trail the surfacer along from the machine, detachable connecting means betweenthe screed and surfacer, a joint-installing blade in the plastic road material extending from a position forwardly of the surfacer beneath such surfacer and to a point: partly under the screed, and adjusting devices connected to the blade at two points to enable the vertical raising and lowering of both ends of the blade.

5. Ina machine for building roads in which the road material is deposited on the subgrade in advance of the machine and confined by side forms, a transversely-reciprocated surfacing member having its end portions resting and slidable on the road forms, tamping means immediately in advance of said member set at a large acute angle to the roadway and above the deposited mass of road material to drive the accumulations of the material in front of the member downwardly and beneath the member, and tensionable means to hold the end portions of the member down upon the forms in resistance to the raising action developed by the compaction of the material by the tamping means beneath said member.

6. In a machine for building roads in which theroad material is deposited on the subgrade in advance of themachine and confined by side forms, a transversely-reciprocated surfacing member having its end portions resting and slidable on the side forms, a reciprocated tamper immediately in advance of said member set at a large acute angle to the roadway and above the deposited mass of road material to drive the accumulations of the material in front of the member downwardly and beneath the member, and yieldable means engaging the frame of the machine and the end portions of the member to hold the end portions of the member down upon the forms in resistance to the raising action developed by the compaction of the material by the tamper beneath the member.

7. In a machine for building roads, a carriage, a surfacing member having front and rear flanges to buck the road material on both forward and rearward movement of the carriage, rollers rotating substantially horizontally in said member in contact with both flanges thereof, means to reciprocate the member transversely of the road, means to raise and lower the member, and rigid connections carrying said rollers and pivoted to the carriage to permit raising and lowering of the member.

8. In a road building machine for roads having side forms in which the road material" is dumped on the subgrade between the side forms, a surfacing member having end portions resting upon the side forms, said end portions having forward walls which incline upwardly and forwardly from the forms whereby to cause the end portions of the member to ride up and over obstructions pro- J'ecting up above form level, and yieldable means for urging said end portions of the member down upon the forms.

the machine, tamping means in advance of the 9. In a road building machine for roads hav ing side forms for confining the road material dumped on the subgrade, a surfacing member the surfacing-member is being moved along the forms eitherforwardly or backwardly and thus enabling said surfacing; member to ride over i such obstructions, and spring-pressed means above said end portionso-f the memberv for yieldinglyurging the same downu'pon; the forms.

10.111 a machine for building roads in which the road materialis deposited on a subgrade of uneven depth, a surfacer at a forward part of the machine, tamping means in advance of the surfacer setrabove thedeposited material and acting angularly to force the accumulated material immediately in front of the surfacer down portions of'*the subgrade, means engaging the machine and the ends of the surfacer for yield ably resisting the raising of the surfacer, and means to resist the forwardtipping ofthe surfacer. 1

11. In a machine for building roads in which" the road material is depositedon a subgrade of uneven depth, a surfacer at a forward part of I surfacer set above the deposited material and acting angularly toIforce the accumulated material immediately in front of the surfacer down beneath the same and down into the depressed .portions of the subgrade, means engaging the machine and the ends of the surfacer for yield:

ably resisting the raising of the surfacer, and

'rolling means on the machine following the surfacer for further compacting the road material down into the depressions of the subgrade.

12. In a machine for building roads in which the road materialis depositedon asubgrade of uneven depth, a surfacer at a forward part of the machine and the ends of the surfacer for yieldably resisting theraising of the surfacer, means to reciprocate .thejsurfacer, means toresist the forward tipping. of the surfacer, and means on the machine following the surfacer to roll down" the compacted material into the depressions of the subgrade. f l f 13.. Ina machine for building roads in which theroad materialjis deposited on the subgrade and confined by side forms, a surfacer supported at its end portions slidably upon the forms, means to reciprocate said surfacer, a shorter auxiliary surfacer placed in advance of said first named surfacer, the ends of the auxiliary sur-j facer terminating appreciably short of the side formstopermittthe auxiliary surfacer to recip-' rocate without interference from the side forms,

' and to freely restupon the road material means connected between the auxiliary surfacer and the machine for'dravving the auxiliary surfacer along independently of the first-named surfacer, said cooperating with the other part whereby to tern"- porarily connect the two surfacers for conjoint reciprocating movement.

14. In a machine for building roads, a carriage movable along throadway, a vibrator, frame supported for relatively sliding movement longitudinally of said carriage whereby the vibrator frame may remain stationary within limits while the carriagemoves forwardly, vibrating means carried by said vibrator frame and projecting down into the road material, and means on said carriage in the path of said vibratorframe for encountering the vibrator-frame and-lifting the same and the vibrating means out of the road material when the carriage reaches a predeterrnined' forward position withrespect to the star tionary vibrator frame. I beneath the'saine and down into the depressed 15, A road building machine, comprising a wheeled carriage, a screed carried by the carcontrolling mechanism positioned substantially in'the middle of and above the screed comprising a longitudinal adjusting screw carried and supported on the central part of the carriage to form a central single control for the screed warping mechanism, and a connection between and the central portion of of the screed, and means for holding down the end'portionsof the action. I n q l 17. A road building machine comprising a carriage operating on side forms of a concrete road under construction, a reciprocating screed, means to support the screed from the carriage and to lift and lower the same, control means secured screed against, such warping tothe' carriage consisting of a single longitudinal adjusting member pivoted tojthe screed whereby to permit free lateral reciprocation of the screed, j said member also having a loose connection with the screed to permit up and down movement of the screed, said control means acting to tip the. central portion of. the screed-in either direction for backward or forward screeding while the machine is in either backward or forwardmotion 1 and while the screedis reciprocating.

18. A device asdescribedcomprising means entering the plasticmaterial for guiding a strip 'to-be installed, and a surfacing member disposed partly above the guiding means and partly above the installed strip. I

19. In a" method for making joints in plastic roads wherein a blade is inserted below the surriageto surface plastic concrete, a single warp- 5 face of the plastic material of the road and a "strip of joint material is fed bythe blade into a groove following in rearof'the blade, the step of surfacing simultaneously over the blade and jointflstrip at the point where the joint strip emerges from the blade wherebyto fill in the space caused by the blade adjacent the joint;

strip.

JOHN N. I-IELTZEL. I 

